by Tia Siren
“Yeah, I do. I haven’t been happy for a long time. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do the cruise party. I figured getting out of the office would help.”
“It didn’t help though, did it?”
“No. It only made things worse.”
“Well, honestly? I think Talita had a lot to do with that.”
“I think you’re right.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“I haven’t decided yet, but I think I am going to take a little time off. Go away for a while. Someplace where nobody knows who I am.”
“Good idea. Clear your head. A couple of days should do that for you.”
“Actually, I am going to take a few weeks off.”
“A few weeks?” Joseph spat.
“Yeah,” he said surprised that it was even an issue.
“What do you mean a few weeks?”
“Just what I said. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Yeah, I have a really big problem with it.”
Edward sat up straight, ready to defend his decision.
“What about our new venture? What, did you think I was going to just wait until you were damned good and ready to help me get this going?”
“You don’t need me to get things rolling.”
“You know I do, Edward.” He stood up and paced back and forth in the room. “You think if I didn’t need you that I would have started this business up with you? If I thought I could have done this myself and be the sole owner of such a company, I would have.” He paused and looked at Edward, waiting for some sort of alteration in his plan. When nothing changed, he shook his head and scoffed. “Hey, man. Don’t worry about it. I’ll put my plans on hold until you figure out what the hell it is you want out of life.”
“Joseph, I think you are being unreasonable.”
“The hell I am. You want me to put my plans on hold until you go off and find yourself? Do you have any idea how long I have been working on this?”
“It’s not like that. I’m just going to….”
“You’re just going to what? Do what you want to do. I know.”
“Why are you so pissed? I need to do this.”
“You need shit,” he said, throwing his arm up at him. He started walking out of the room then quickly turned back around. “You’re a selfish bastard, ya know that?”
“I… Joseph.” Edward furrowed his eyebrows.
“No.” He put his hand up to shut him up. “This company needs you. I need you. And you just decide to take a couple of weeks off to figure out where your dick needs to be? Man, screw that.”
Edward sat up straighter as an idea filled his head. “You didn’t let me finish.”
“Oh, by all means, continue. It’s not like I’m going to change your mind anyway.”
“Do you remember Brian Spawnery?”
“Yeah,” he said passively. He had walked to the window giving Edward only partial attention, pouting over the fact Edward could and would do what he wanted.
“Where does he work?”
“How the hell am I supposed to remember that? It was over ten years ago.”
“Right, in college. He graduated with us. Took most of the same classes, and graduated top of the class, like we did.”
“But not as good as we did. Don’t forget that.”
“Of course.”
“So? What’s your point? What about him?”
“He is top CEO at Ardo.”
“That investment company in Paris?”
Edward nodded. “I figured while I was visiting there I could get some insider tips from him, bring them back here and put together a plan. Utilize them in our new company and get ahead of the competition.”
“Aw, yeah,” Joseph said with a more agreeable attitude. “You da man. Always thinking,” he nodded. “I’m beginning to think this might be a damned good idea. Maybe I should go with you.”
“No. I need you to stay here. Keep things going here. I’ll keep communication open and keep you informed on what I am doing.”
“Good deal, good deal.”
Edward nodded and smiled, content that his plan worked.
Chapter 7
He worked through the next few days, finishing some projects he didn’t want hanging and tying up loose ends. He had a meeting just before lunch with the heads to make sure they were on the same page and told them he would give his contact information so he could be reached once he landed in Paris.
“You sure you need to do this?” Joseph waited for everyone to leave the conference room before second guessing Edwards reasoning for blindly taking off for so long.
“You will be fine without me. I promise. I put most of the meetings off until I get back and there are enough people around here to help out if you need them.”
When he finally walked out the front door of the building he took a huge breath.
“I think my time away will do Joseph some good too,” he said out loud as he got into his car. He relies on me way too much, he thought. He started his car and pulled out of the parking lot toward the airport, with his bags already in the back.
The airport terminal was crowded with people hustling and bustling to get to their own destinations, Edward didn’t think he was going to get through customs before his plane took off. He looked at his watch and as he tried pushing his way through the line, he saw a woman on the other side of the gate waving at him.
“Darling, come on,” she yelled. “We are going to miss our plane.”
Edward turned around and looked behind him, but didn’t see anyone she would have been calling to. He pointed to himself and she nodded, waving her hand to get him to push through the line of people toward her. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but if she was mistaking him for someone she knew, he would use it to get through.
“Excuse me,” he said to a woman in front of him. When the woman looked at him, annoyed that he touched her, he pointed to the woman waving at him and apologized for having to push past her. He continued this same charade until he was at the security gate.
“It’s about time, darling. I was about to think you were standing me up and I’d have to celebrate our anniversary all alone.” She spoke like a woman with a lot of old money and she looked as though she was trying to dress as if she was in her forties but obviously still looking very much twenty-something. She was extremely attractive but seemingly fake and materialistic.
“Eh, sorry,” Edward said, playing along. “I got tied up with clients.”
“Of course.”
The security guard took Edward’s bag and set it on a conveyor belt as he hushed a few annoyed travelers who stood behind him and decided to voice their opinions on his rudeness and favoritism.
Edward turned around and apologized to them, hoping to get through the gate before the woman, who was obviously blind as a bat, realized he was not her husband. As soon as the guard was finished checking his passport and scanning his clothes, he walked through the metal detector, grabbed his bags and looked around his imaginary wife, who was no longer anywhere to be seen. He turned and looked again, quickly erasing any thought that he might be losing his mind before walking toward the proper gate to board his plane.
The corridor was long but he got there in plenty of time, walking through the gate and outside toward the large jumbo jet. He climbed the steep stairway and entered the plane, handing the stewardess his boarding pass. She glanced at it and smiled a flirtatious smile. “Bonsoir, monsieur Caldwell,” she said as she politely ushered him to a first-class seat. He looked around the cabin, pleased at the comfortable atmosphere. Each of the two lounge chairs had enough room to kick back and enjoy the flight. There were laptops available along with headphones for music or movie entertainment.
“Puis-je vous offrir quelque chose? Can I get you anything?” asked the young blond stewardess.
“A scotch on the rocks, please?”
“Will that be all, sir?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She touc
hed his arm before she walked toward the small bar in the front of the first-class seating area and he wondered if his life was all that bad. Maybe Joseph was right. Maybe I am overreacting. He stood and slid his bag into the large overhead compartment before turning around to sit back down. When he turned around, he caught the stewardess standing behind him, holding a scotch on the rocks and staring at his behind.
“Excusez-moi, monsieur Caldwell. Here is your beverage.”
Edward nodded and took the drink. I’m not overreacting, he thought. He waited for her to leave him before taking a sip and letting the warm liquid slide into the back of his throat. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
A soft dinging sound filled the cabin followed by a female voice over the intercom. She went through the necessary rules and warnings before allowing the captain to announce their take off. As the plane maneuvered onto the runway and gently ascended into the air, thoughts of Talita came back to him as he remembered her soft skin and the way her green eyes looked back at him as he hovered over her naked body. He wondered why he didn’t pick up on the fact that she was married. He always boasted his ability to read into people, even their deeper secrets they tried keeping to themselves. When he was with Sasha, he knew she wasn’t serious-relationship material. He knew this the day they began their relationship. Green eyes. Sasha had them too. He smiled as he recalled their Paris trip. Wouldn’t it be funny if he ran into her there again? It was virtually impossible but the thought made him smile.
“May I?” A soft and sultry, yet familiar voice jolted him back to reality.
When he opened his eyes and looked up, there stood the woman who helped him through security. He cocked his head to the side and smiled.
“Well, hello again.”
“I thought I might find you here.” She gestured to the seat next to him.
“Please, sit. Join me.”
He watched as she walked around him and nestled her tiny behind into the lounge chair. She didn’t say another word until she had properly positioned her purse and her magazine next to her. He imagined a little ankle-biter of a dog to pop out of her purse at any moment. When she was finished smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her hat, she took a breath and turned toward Edward.
“I didn’t get your name.”
“Well, I figured the way you were pulling me along in the airport you would have known everything you needed to know about me.”
“Oh, that.” She waved her hand. “I love stirring people up.”
“So, you make a habit of announcing your engagements with people you hardly know.”
“Actually, yes. I do,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “I’m Helen.”
“Edward.”
“Very noble name. I like to read people. I choose someone who would seemingly enjoy a change of pace, even if for a moment and I change it. I saw you standing in that line of people and you were obviously worried you weren’t going to catch your plane. I saw that we are of the same society of people,” she continued as her fingers slowly slid up and down his arm “so I thought, how fun would it be to play the wife and graciously pull you from that horrible line of people. I did… and here you are.”
“Yes,” he said, glancing at her hand. “Here I am. And thank you, by the way.”
“It was my pleasure.”
He adjusted himself in the chair, giving him a reason to move his arm away. “What do you mean we are from the same society of people?”
“You need to question that?”
“Well, I would love to hear your rendition of it.”
As she spoke, she moved closer to him after the lights dimmed. “Certain people hold themselves in a specific manner.” She took his hand and opened it to feel his palm. “I can tell if someone is from old money.” She slid her fingertip along his palm “I can tell if they have just come into their wealth and I can certainly tell if they have none at all.” She got up and moved to his lap, resuming her conversation as if it were completely natural. “You have done well for yourself.”
“And you treat each differently?” Her baby powder scent filled his senses and threw him a little off guard.
“I am no bigot,” she defended, leaning away from him for a moment.
“Nor would I call you such a thing. I am merely keeping conversation.”
She felt good against his body.
“Well,” she said, pursing her lips. I treat everyone with respect, of course. But how far I let things go, I guess, would determine where they came from.” She slid her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, not giving the slightest care about the others around them.
“What about dating?”
“A fling? Or something more… meaningful?” she whispered.
“Something more meaningful, a mate, someone you wanted to get to know and perhaps spend the rest of your life with.”
“I believe we should stay within our means, absolutely. You know, birds of a feather flock together?”
“And why is that? You could be missing out on some very beautiful people.” His mouth was only an inch from hers.
“Like I said, I can read people pretty well.” She leaned forward and pressed her perfectly pink lips into his, kissing him deeply and pressing her breasts into his chest. She leaned back to see his reaction before continuing. “Plus,” she said, licking her lips “I think it sets you up for disaster if you go out of your societal culture. I mean there is nothing wrong with messing around with a man who likes to get his hands dirty. Mmm, nothing at all.” She nuzzled her nose into his neck and licked his chin bone with the tip of her tongue. “But let’s face it, there is so much more to consider.”
“Like… what?”
“And I thought you were successful and bright,” she teased. She fed her hands around his body and lifted her skirt to her thigh.
“Just getting your take on the subject.” He was finding it difficult to have such a serious conversation when all he wanted to do was take her clothes off and dominate her until they were both exhausted.
“Well, like your credit status.” She sat upright and put her hands on her legs. “Say you fall for some blue-collar type and you get married, have babies and she decides to leave you after ten years. She can take half of everything you have, ruin your good standings in society and destroy your credit. Would you want that?”
“If I truly loved her, I would want what is best for her and our children, sure.” He wasn’t sure how she was able to turn herself on and off the way she did, but it wasn’t doing him any good as he tried to shift to make it a little easier to sit comfortably underneath her with his cock as hard as it was.
“And then there is your circle of friends. I am sure they are of a higher elite group of people than hers would be. How could you possibly intertwine the two worlds? Her friends would be bitter because you have nicer things. Your friends would look down on you for being associated with people like that. It’s just not worth it.”
“And you are not a bigot?” he asked again, adding a bit more sarcasm.
“Take it as you wish. It is reality.”
“So you wouldn’t allow a relationship to unfold with a man you truly connect with if he didn’t have money?”
“I would not. It wouldn’t be fair to my family, to me or to my offspring. We are a different breed. We have the ability to love and still survive well on our own.”
“Interesting.”
“You don’t agree?”
“No, I don’t. Not entirely. Excuse me.” He pushed her forward gently, giving her the notion to move back to her seat to which she did, unwillingly.
He got up and picked up his drink.
“Where are you going?”
“Someplace a little more peaceful. I’m sorry. Helen, you are a striking young woman but I am not that kind of a guy anymore.”
“Anymore? Well… wait,” she stammered. “You can’t just walk off. Aren’t you even going to explain yourself?” she asked, offended that he was brushing her
off so easily.
He stopped and thought about his next move. Should he just walk away and leave things be or should he tell her exactly what he thought? The flight was only an hour long but he wasn’t sure he could avoid her that long. She seemed the pushy type, obviously an alpha female. A moment longer, he turned toward her and took a sip of his scotch. “You and I are not of the same social circle. You believe money is the root of a relationship, the basis of life. I disagree because I know differently. You can have love in someone, in anyone if she is the right one for you regardless of their social stature. To live your life because you are worried about what others think of you is shallow and hypocritical and you are only fooling yourself.”
“I don’t think you….”
“You are never going to find true… happiness,” he interrupted. “You’ll fall in love with money, stature, social status, and for that, I feel terrible for you. Now if you will excuse me.” He turned and made his way into the lounge area of the plane to relax with his scotch. He wanted to turn to look at her gaping mouth and stunned expression but he kept his attention forward, noticing one woman nodding and smiling at him as he disappeared from the cabin.
He found an empty seat in the lounge and sat down, looking at the door, half expecting Helen to barge in to continue where he left her hanging. After a few moments, he got comfortable and began to think about what she said. Stay within your social circle, you can’t intertwine the two worlds, sets you up for disaster. He didn’t believe any of it but he did believe he was stuck in his own societal circle because of his so-called reputation, his success, his money and the way he dressed. He looked down at his pressed suit and knew what he needed to do.
Chapter 8
The rest of the flight was uneventful, with Edward sitting in the lounge area watching the clouds go by beneath him. He thought a lot about what he wanted and how he planned to achieve that.
The familiar ding of the intercom let the passengers know an announcement was coming. Edward looked at his watch then out the window. He didn’t think they were in Paris just yet. They had only been in the air for about twenty minutes.